The Author Henry James Art makes life, makes interest, makes importance Henry James was born in 1843 in Washington Place, New York, the second son of Henry James senior, and his wife, Mary Walsh. His brother, William, was a year older, while Garth Wilkinson, Robertson, and sister Alice were all younger than him. William became one of the greatest American philosophers, and Alice s diaries and letters have been published in recent years. 1 His father was a wealthy intellectual, whose friends included Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau. He decided that an education of travelling in Europe was better for his children than sending them to a rigid, conventional school. Consequently, they made many voyages back and forth2 between the United States and Europe, and stayed in Geneva, Paris, London and Bonn. The James house was full of curiosity, ideas and books, but the children had no time to socialise and make friends. They finally came back to live in the States in 1860 when Henry was seventeen. By this time he had read all the classics, and already knew that he wanted literature to be his life. In 1861, while working as a volunteer fireman, he had a lifechanging accident which caused what he called, his obscure hurt . He never gave any details, but the injury prevented him from doing military service in the American Civil War. His first book review3 was published when he was twenty-two. He went on to write twenty novels, one hundred and twelve stories, twelve plays and many literary criticisms during his long career. 1. wealthy: rich. 2. back and forth: moved repeatedly from one place to another and back again. 3. review: a report in a newspaper, magazine, or program that gives an opinion about a new book, film, etc. 4